Stabilizing copper by cu-O-Zr Interface for electrochemical C − N coupling towards urea synthesis

Electrocatalytic carbonnitrogen coupling offers a promising green pathway for urea synthesis. However, under electroreduction conditions, copperbased catalysts inevitably to form lowactivity metallic copper. Therefore, preventing copper overreduction is critical to maintaining high catalytic activity. Hence, we propose a strategy of introducing highvalence oxides onto the surface of copper particles. The strong interaction between ZrO2 and Cu forms a Zr-O-Cu interface, which stabilizes highvalence Cu species against reconstruction, enhancing catalyst stability. Moreover, the electrondeficient copper sites generated at this interface facilitate the adsorption of C-/N-containing species, leading to enhanced coupling activity. This work provides a new insight for the design of highly active and stable catalysts for C−N coupling.